


Forward

by bibliophileemily



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Angst, Gift Fic, M/M, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:28:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22040326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bibliophileemily/pseuds/bibliophileemily
Summary: Guy couldn't explain why he was here; he knew only that he had to talk to Asch. What's left unsaid is just as important as what is spoken.
Relationships: Asch the Bloody/Guy Cecil
Kudos: 7





	Forward

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyUsada](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=LadyUsada).



> Secret Santa gift for Lady Usada, who asked for Guy/Asch. I've never written this pairing before, but I know the pain of shipping a rarepair, so I did my best to deliver!

Complicated.

It was the only word Guy could apply to the sullen-faced man sitting in front of them. Or maybe it wasn’t that Asch himself was complicated—it was their relationship that best fit the word.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d asked Asch to meet him in the first place. Asch made it clear he wanted nothing to do with them, especially not with Guy after Guy chose to go back to Luke after Belkend. Luke himself was already sensitive about being replaced and not as good as his original, which was why Guy felt some amount of guilt for meeting with Asch at all. But Luke didn’t have to know, and Guy… well, he couldn’t explain why he was here. Only that he knew with every fonon in his body that he had to talk to Asch, had to confirm what he feared was happening.

“So what did you want?” Asch asked, kicking the toe of his boot against the leg of the chair he sat in.

“Answers.” Guy crossed his arms, resisting the urge to reach out and hold Asch’s leg still. “Something’s wrong with Luke. Ever since the Tower of Rem, he’s been withdrawn.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

That was where Guy got stuck. Should he play his cards close or lay them all out?

“I’m worried. Neither of you should have survived that. How do I know there weren’t any harmful effects?”

Asch grimaced. “It’s none of your business.”

“It is my business! Luke is my friend, and you’re—” He stopped himself, not sure what he was going to say next.

Asch stared at him, green eyes narrowed and seething with a feeling Guy couldn’t name. “Yes, Guy, what am I to you?”

The silence hung between them.

What _was_ Asch? Guy struggled with the question.

Luke was Luke. Asch was Asch. The two were separate and distinct as far as he was concerned. Luke was his best friend, the boy he’d half-raised, the young man growing into a true hero. Guy would die for Luke without a second thought.

But Asch… Who was Asch? The child Guy had known so long ago, serious and reserved, always focused on sword training and etiquette lessons and anything else he believed was necessary for his future role as Natalia’s consort.

Guy knew Asch didn’t accept alternatives. For him, there was only one path at a time. Even after Van changed the course, Asch followed it. The only time he’d changed things himself was when he decided to stop Van’s plan to destroy and rebuild the world, but even then, he had only one plan, one route to finish the job. Luke’s existence threw everything into revolution, and Asch couldn’t adapt to the bumps and turns in the new road.

“You can’t answer, can you?” Asch’s tone was scathing. “This is a waste of time.”

“Don’t go yet. I have to know—”

“You don’t get to know anything about me!” Asch roared. “You chose that _replica_ over me.” He sounded like a child, still the child who couldn’t forgive being replaced.

“I didn’t choose him over you!” Guy said. “He needed me more.”

“And I didn’t?” Asch scowled.

“Asch…” Guy’s head was reeling. He had to explain, but how? “This isn’t about Luke. I know what’s happening to him. Is something happening to you too?”

“What do you care?”

Guy stared at him. “I used to fantasize about killing you,” he said. “It’s what I’d think about to get myself to sleep at night.” He couldn’t define the emotions welling up inside him. Whatever it was, it burned hot and made his eyes sting. “If I really didn’t care, I could have killed you at any time.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Guy’s sword was drawn and pressed against Asch’s neck before he finished the sentence.

Asch smirked. “At last, you reveal your true feelings.”

Guy’s eyes burned as he stared at Asch. The boy he’d hated, the man he couldn’t bear to see hurting.

He dropped his sword, leaned forward, and kissed him.

No expectations. No ulterior motives.

Guy fully expected Asch to shove him away and slap him, but at that moment, he didn’t care. He _needed_ Asch to understand, he needed _Asch_.

But Asch didn’t shove him away; instead, his lips parted.

Seconds, hours… Guy didn’t know; he’d lost all track of time. He was lost in Asch: the taste of his lips, the tickle of his breath on his cheek, the smell of his skin.

Asch finally stepped back. “That changes nothing,” he said, standing up and turning to leave. Guy felt all the air pulled out of his lungs.

“Asch!”

But Asch kept walking. Guy knew better than to stop him. For Asch, there was only one way—forward—and Guy wasn’t part of that path.


End file.
